Suits for Success helps inmates ‘break the cycle’

Steve Hirmer is the owner of Signature Cleaners in Naperville, which is a drop-off location for Suits for Success program

CREST HILL – Suits for Success is a new ministry that collects gently used clothes from the community.

William Denwood, board member for Disciples Bible Outreach Ministry, said in a news release that individuals, organizations and churches drop them off at participating dry cleaners, which press them at no cost. Volunteers then take them to state prisons.

“Our purpose is to break the cycle of men and women going back into the environment that caused them to go to prison in the first place,” Denwood said in a news release. “We want to place these people on an equal footing in the interview process and to get these people employed.

“This will restore their pride, get them out of the environment that caused them to be in prison, help to get them employed and become tax paying citizens. From this new position they will join the workforce and rejoin the community.”

In an email, Denwood said the coat collection began in November 2016 when Stateville Correctional Center in Crest Hill sent out an email request to nonprofits asking for donated clothes for interview purposes.

From there, the ministry grew to include other correctional centers and volunteers. More than 500 suits have been delivered to Stateville and 4,028 to various men and women’s prisons, Denwood said in an email.

In Joliet, drop off gently used clothes at KC Specialty Cleaners, 455 N. Ottawa St. Call them at 815-724-0360.

For information on Suits for Success, including additional drop-off locations, visit suitsforsuccess.net.